After a second dune breach at the Indian River Inlet this year, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) is engaging the public in its plan for a long-term replenishment solution.
DNREC hosted a town informational event at Bethany Beach Tuesday to inform the public about the department’s repair plans for the Indian River Inlet and is developing a list of frequently asked questions to post on their website.
DNREC and DelDOT already announced emergency repairs that will include significant dredging and nourishment projects, as well as 700 feet of metal sheet installations to help restore the barrier.
The departments have already spread close to 55,000 cubic yards of sand to repair the breached area and 300 feet of large stones to protect from further erosion.
Sen. Tom Carper also secured $10 million in federal funds for the project, but DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin says people may be unaware the state is matching those funds.
“So for that $10 million, the state has to bring $14.5 million to the table. So we've got to balance out how much we need to do – kind of a project as fast as possible – and then second, to figure out how do we potentially partner with the Army Corps on a second phase?”
Garvin hopes the second phase includes getting the Indian River Inlet on a consistent cycle of beach replenishment moving forward.
He says that phase will not come until after the emergency nourishment project is finished, which should begin this November, and the sand bypass system becomes operational again in December.
While the allocation of federal funds enabled the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) to help with the project, Garvin hopes Delaware can set up a federal reimbursement process in the future so the state can utilize the USACE quicker in the event that federal dollars aren’t immediately available.
"So if we have an emergency situation, we spend federal state dollars, [and the federal government] can't reimburse us for the work that's done — they can only partner with us once there are federal dollars that are available moving forward. And so potentially having the ability — for emergency situations — to have the Corps be able to reimburse us so we don't have to necessarily wait around moving forward," Garvin explained.
You can find information presented at the event on DNREC's website here.
